NFL Draft 1, 2, 3: 49ers’ playmakers, Raiders’ QB thoughts and more

1–If there’s one nit-pick I had about the 49ers under former defensive coordinator Greg Manusky, it was that they never really seemed to seek or value true playmakers on the edges.

I figured that would change with the Jim Harbaugh regime, and it sounds like it already has.

As new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said on KNBR yesterday(via Eric Branch), the Harbaugh 49ers will put a premium on finding defensive playmakers to stop the great offensive playmakers in this league.

-In this draft, that could be LSU DB Patrick Peterson or Texas A&M LB Von Miller, for sure.

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Manusky played a sound 3-4 and obviously tried to funnel everything towards superstar ILB Patrick Willis, which is a fairly wise plan.

But even before Manusky’s arrival, the Mike Nolan/Scot McCloughan 49ers were fairly blase about landing a pure edge rushers and DB playmakers.

And then when Manusky took over the defense in 2007, the franchise determined that passrushers, especially, could be made by the system–and that they didn’t have to use a high draft pick (or big free-agent money) specifically on a QB-killer.

Or a ball-hawking DB.

We’ve seen the results–lots of solid players like LBs Manny Lawson and Parys Haralson and DL like Ray McDonald and Isaac Sopoaga and DBs like Tarell Brown and Reggie Smith…

And when it’s time to make a game-deciding play… nothing.

If it didn’t come from Willis or maybe Justin Smith, the defense usually got beat by one or two opponent offensive playmakers. Mostly on the perimeter.

Mike Singletary tried to push Ahmad Brooks into the playmaker role. But that just never really occurred. He was a supplemental draft/waiver-wire guy and has usually played like it.

Now the Steelers and Chargers (where Manusky came from and then went back to this year) have done well mostly staying away from burning high picks on pure playmakers and believing their systems create the playmakers.

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But you have to be very good at what you’re doing in the draft to accomplish that, and a whole bunch of guys like Lawsons and Haralsons–who always seem to disappear in the big moments–is not how that happens.

As Barrows has pointed out, the 49ers need their own copies of Clay Matthews Jr. and Charles Woodson. They need guys who turn the ball over and show up largest at the end of games.

And I think the 49ers will be looking for a defensive playmaker with the No. 7 pick and I think there will be one or two available–whether it’s Peterson, Miller, Prince Amukamara or someone else.

2–If I had to guess the draft-thinking of Al Davis, which is not recommended for anybody…

I’d remember that the Raiders do not have a first-round pick at this point, having traded it (No. 17 overall) to New England for Richard Seymour.

And then I’d be wondering…

-With a run-pass QB as talented as Washington’s Jake Locker in this draft..

-Who might remind AD a bit of Vince Young, whom Al loved in the 2006 draft… (and also is just as erratic and inaccurate, but Al doesn’t mind that too much)…

-With Cam Newton and Blaine Gabbert projected to be the first two QBs taken in this draft, which might push Locker down into the teens or 20s of the first round…

-With some teams leery of taking a QB, if they need one, very high in the draft because of the lock-out questions and potential inability to coach the QB until October or November (even less than the Raiders got with JaMarcus Russell when he held out in 2007 and all but wiped out his rookie season)…

-Could Al try to trade into the first round–somewhere in the teens or 20s–to get Locker?

I know he has professed his devotion to Jason Campbell, but… I do wonder.

I think Al would offer next year’s No. 1 to get back into this year’s first round. I also think some team from 20-27 (NE is #27, wouldn’t that be funny?) might take him up on it.

3–About all this loud pre-weeping for the college players who might not get the chance to walk across the stage and hug the commissioner if the NFLPA gets its way and dampens the NFL Draft proceedings…

I’m not joining it.

Listen, I understand it’s a part of the dream for many to have that moment on stage. And I know the players who get drafted high have worked hard to get there.

But it’s a dream only 15 to 20 players a year usually get. You’re saying the 200+ other players who get drafted–but are not invited for the “dream” moment with Roger Goodell in NYC–didn’t work as hard?

What about the 100s of other players who wanted to get drafted but didn’t?

What about the 1000s of players who toiled in college football this season and will never get a sniff of the NFL?

This is a very limited/exclusive “dream” you’re doling out here, OK?

Only 15-20 players a year get “the moment”: Howie Long didn’t get it. Joe Montana didn’t get it. Arian Foster didn’t get it. Tom Brady didn’t get it. Aaron Rodgers wishes he didn’t have it.

Yes, the 15 to 20 players who would’ve had the moment and don’t get it–if they follow the wishes of the NFLPA, which I believe most will–are unlucky to be pushed into the middle of this.

But their “dream” should be and probably is much broader than hugging the commissioner and celebrating on national TV.

It should be to have a great NFL career, win games, and get paid large money to do so.

They will miss one moment of glory. But you think they’ll be lacking in moments of glory in the next few years as No. 1 picks? You think they’ve lacked for glory in the last few years at college?

It’s too bad. It’s good to see 15 to 20 kids and their families experience that moment.

But they’re still getting drafted. They’re still going to get millions. If all they want is the party and the celebrations… I’m sure they’ve had and will get more than their share of that over their careers, too.

Tim Kawakami

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So guys who aren’t even part of the union (decertified by the way so what union?) and the same union by the way who is negociating to slash the pay day for these guy who will be showing up to the draft should do as they say? Being a recovering Jamarcus victim, I’m all for a rookie cap and blah, blah… Still seems funny though that the NFL PA woudl really expect these kids to just do as they’re told.

qtlaw

Hopefully the college players understand that while they will miss out on their “dream” day of draft day, they will realize that they will stand to gain the most from what the union is fighting for, a few years down the road, and that the draft is the owners’ ruse to tell the fans that its business as usual.

Sharkalchemy

One of these soon to be rookies should request the Seattle owners 400ft yacht as the go-to place for this years draft. Of course it doesn’t really make sense, but that’s not the point — The zeitgeist of the times is against opulent detached educated fools with tons of money, so the NFLPA should triangulate a consistent game plan to win the PR battle in these negotiations.

KauaiRobert

I think a mixture of BOTH idas would cool–as a ‘from-now-on’ I mean.
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Draftees are greeted by Goodell on stage and do the hat, jersey, hand shake, and photo thing, which is cool.
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But it would be even MORE cool if a couple of leaders from each team were there to welcome them too–wouldn’t it?
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Like if we take Peterson at #7…he comes on stage to meet Goodell and afterward, out walks Gore and Willis to welcome him and give him his jersey.
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THAT WOULD BE SICK!!!
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*ALOHA*

Peterson is the best coverage back I’ve seen since Deion. And I’d bet he’s already a much better tackler. But he’ll be long gone by No. 7. My guess is that Von Miller will, too, as his stock continues to rise.

I’d love either.

I just don’t see them falling to us. Tho, it could happen if there’s a QB rush, cuz a number of teams ahead of us might be shopping — including, now, the Bengals.

It doesn’t matter. Lil’ Jed and the rest of the organization have a proven track record of making the wrong decisions, both on and off-field, every single time. They are stuck in an awful stadium, yet continue to alienate loyal fans by raising ticket prices as the team continues its eight-year slide into NFL irrelevancy.

I urge all 49er fans to check out http://www.adios49ers.com and see how one longtime fan (me) has decided to speak out by not renewing his tickets while telling the clowns running this once-proud team into the ground to stick it.

What I would like to know is once the players are drafted, once there name is called they are no longer allowed to have communications with the coaches and would be locked out immediately, I mean since none of the organizations can talk to agents or players……. well my question is once there name is called, are they locked out and have to wait for a new CBA to sign a contract?

I want Peterson, Dareus, or Quinn at #7, round 2- Ponder, Kapernick, Mallet, Dalton, Locker ( I have faith in what ever QB coach JH goes with)…. we also resign Alex Sith and use our 3rd or 4th round draft pick to trade for Josh Johnson from Tampa Bay.

DaBears

-The players should hold their own draft event and sell the rights to a network.

-No team should draft Locker before the 6th round – and if they do it then it is only because they are looking for a potential safety.

That Man

Looking at the mocks from sites around the interweb, it is looking like Defense will be the calling of the top 10. Miller is going #2 in the new ESPN mock. If two qbs go in the top 6, then a playmaker will drop to us. Hopefully peterson cause our db’s suck. or throw the world at nnamdi. or both!
go niners

How about Judge Doty rule that those billions in escrow get divided up by the same percentage as this year’s contract? Then things will be settled and everyone will be one big happy family by the draft.

(By the way, I’m looking for Von Miller in red and gold.)

DieHard

You do seem to neglect one important aspect of this situation in your story…the fans. We’re the ones caught in the middle of this ugly fight between two bitter parents. If the NFLPA looks to start intimidating the owners by stirring up the fans, they had better be prepared for the consequences. With Adrian Peterson’s shameful comments about the NFL being modern day slave holders, and Drew Brees’ insincere gripes about “fair deals”, I’m leaning to the side of the NFL right now and with every selfish move the NFLPA makes, I lean even further. Fans have done nothing but enrich these players and pay out the nose to do so. We deserve more respect. The NFLPA should keep that in mind when they’re looking to make a point.

Roscoe

The NFLPA’s “request” that draftees not attend the event hurts no one except for the draftees and their families. The draft goes on anyway and ESPN will fill the time with more interesting film and analysis. Meanwhile, the fans will be spared the maudlin moments of players and their families as they celebrate and cry – followed by boring interviews with mostly inarticulate draftees. Not to mention the discomfort of watching some poor kid twist in the wind as he slips down the board. I won’t miss it a bit, but those kids will. And it just makes the NFLPA appear childish and spiteful.

Jack Stewart

People who talk about the 15-20 players losing their dream are missing the much bigger point: the draft broadcast is about the fans as much or more than the players. The fans love to see the guy walk onto the stage and put on their team’s cap. The draft is about hope, and the fans want that personified on that stage. This boycott is one of the stupidest (potential) moves the players could make. Right now they have a shot at making the owners look bad by simply pointing out the owners holding back the season. Holding a petty boycott that will tick off fans will make the players look bad and swing sympathy away from them. They have to understand: the draft is primarily about teams, and about fans by extension. The draft broadcast is primarily about the fans.

Jack Stewart

DieHard: when it comes to “enrichment,” remember that in the current deal, when the upfront 1 billion is given to the owners, the 9 billion is split about 50-50. The reality is that 4.5 billion goes to 32 owners, and 4.5 billion goes to 1,660 players. And that money is not distributed equally. Sure, the Tom Bradys and Darell Revises make a ton. But the average NFL career is about 3 years, and those guys’ salaries, prorated over a lifetime, work out to about $40,000 to $50,000 a year. The owners’ supposed expenses, such as stadiums, are mostly paid for by local taxpayers and the NFL itself.

Jack Stewart

Jon, yes, once they are drafted they can’t sign anything until there is a new CBA.

woody

Let me get this straight….the NFLPA urges the draftees to avoid the televised NFL Draft and then rolls over on them with a rookie salary cap as a way of saying “thanks for bringing the owners back to the table”?
There has to be a draftable Harvard or Princeton kid around somewhere, right?

kawakami is terrible

“-With a run-pass QB as talented as Washington’s Jake Locker in this draft..

-Who might remind AD a bit of Vince Young, whom Al loved in the 2006 draft… (and also is just as erratic and inaccurate, but Al doesn’t mind that too much)…”

The “erratic and inaccurate” Vince Young posted completion percentages of 59.2 and 65.2. Lockers best was a 58.2 and his average is well below that. Vince Young ran for 2129 yards in 2 seasons. Locker ran for 1939 yards in 4 seasons. Locker beat USC. Vince Young beat USC for a national championship.

Vince Young is 30-17 as a starter in the NFL. He’s also a bit of a head case, that much is obvious. But I’m not seeing much of a comparison between Locker and VY from the stats or from their performance in terms of winning games. And as much as Al Davis may have “loved” Vince Young in 2006, he didn’t trade up 4 spots to get him and ended up with Michael Huff. I would be shocked if the Raiders trade up to get Jack Locker.

But then again what can be expected from Kawakami, the only man alive who loved Cam Newton’s workouts at the combine?

4th and 1

the way these guys have been hyped, I suspect Gabbert, and Peterson may be gone before #7. Von Miller may be gone before then too. Then what?

Bobby

Love your stuff Tim, everyone should get to shake Goodell’s hand or kick his butt. OOH ny salary is only a dollar haha. Stay true and don’t get sucker punched by herrera.

Jack Stewart

4th and 1: if those three are gone (and I hope they won’t be), then a couple of others will be. For instance, take those 3 out, and you have Marcel Darius, D’Quan Bowers, Nick Fairly, A.J. Green, Prince Amukamara, and Robert Quinn still on the board. Except for Green, all of those guys are at positions of need, and even Green would be a big help. However, considering the need of teams ahead of us for defensive linemen, I think that one of the three you mention will probably be there. I have seen one mock draft where those three are gone, but all of the others have one of those three available. And there are a lot of pro days still to go, so there’s probably someone not even mentioned who will be in that top 6. Tyson Jackson ended up #3 and wasn’t projected top 10 until a few days before the draft. And don’t forget the “stupid pick” factor. Whether it’s in the first 6 picks or not, there’s always at least one (like Ted Ginn at #9, for instance).

BILL56

Whatever the Raiders do I hope they dont draft a qb in the early rounds because they always get burned.Marc Wilson was ok I guess but certainly not great.And the rest-Rusty Hilger,Andrew Walter,Jamarcus Russell-well you get the point.